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Topic: so far-disappointment with new HB35 (Read 2543 times)

Intonation is terrible-so I figured no big deal, I'll just adjust the saddles. well the screws that move the individual saddles have a huge, almost round hole in them? no screwdriver I have comes close to fitting? am I missing something?This is a new guitar ordered directly from Mississippi for me by a music store. Neck is fine-...No matter what else I could do I really cannot believe the screws.

I mean is it a special tool or something? pretty bummed-guitar is unplayable. of course I could just raise the tom on the bad side EAD are way, way out, but GBE are perfect.I really do not want a guitar that I cannot adjust an individual saddle on. any help appreciated. I like the guitar, the neck, etc-looks beautiful.This never was in the store-it was delivered and I picked it up at the store 1 hour later.

Well, not an allen wrench...definitely has 4 points like a phillips. After looking with a magnifying glass I am beginning to believe this was just a really poor(as in unskilled) worker who attempted to adjust the intonation or whatever and totally screwed up. I am so bummed about this.

Well, used some silicon on a cotton Q-tip and let it sit. saddles moved and intonation set. I still truly do not understand why washburn chose to reverse the bridge-as in screws facing neck and also DAE strings have the saddles reversed. Seems the sloped edge of saddles and the screws should be facing the tail piece. Will be when I get done. 60 views and 1 reply? Which I appreciate very much...But, OK-that certainly tells me something. same with post above mine about tailpiece-80 views and no replies. Not much love for the Washburn Semis obviously...

I hate to bring this back from the dead, but I feel this is best to avoid an overabundance of threads dealing with the same topic.

I recently bought a 2014 HB-32 made in China from a first owner. He bought it through, I believe, Sweetwater. He played the guitar for a few days and then put it on a shelf for a year before selling to me. He claimed he just did not bond with the guitar. The guitar has absolutely no wear on it at all. Pristine condition. But I now know why the owner did not love the guitar. The fret job was uneven, creating intonation problems not easily fixed. I have also found the pickup selector switch to be a bit janky. Sometimes it does not employ both pickups when in the middle position.

All told, these are fixable problems. I paid for a setup and for a fret leveling. $60 total. The guitar now plays and intonates perfectly. I will eventually fix the selector switch. I just wanted to add my experience to this thread as it can serve as record for Washburn and future second hand buyers. Don't be scared off, but know that there may be some minimal work needed to turn the HB series of guitars into fantastic instruments.